Friday, October 25, 2013

For Monday: Questions/Discussion for "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams" (2010)



Answer TWO of the following for MONDAY’s class:

1. How does the film try to explain the cave in religious terms, or an example of the faith or believes of early man?  Though we have no literature here, only cave paintings and a few relics (the flute, etc.) what might these tell us about our ancient ancestors? 

2. One of the archaeologists working at the site said he had vivid dreams of “deep and powerful things” for nights afterward.  Based on this, why might this cave be important to us today?  What link do we still have with it?  Why might we still consider it “art” in the same way as a famous painting or a work of literature?

3. Why did the Paleolithic men and women only paint animals (except for perhaps one depiction of a woman)?  What did they want to record or describe in their art, and what might this say about their conception of the world?  Related to this, do we get a sense of their idea of beauty? 

4. Do you think these ancient men/women regarded their paintings as ‘art’ in the way we do?  Did they create it for beauty, pleasure, or instruction?  Should we call them ‘artists’?  Is there any way to know, based on the evidence of the film?   

 

 

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